everything is blue
by Mctvcker
Summary: Kenny and Craig rekindle their old friendship (romance?) on a camping trip with their friends.


"Are you seriously packing that?" Craig Tucker grips onto the straps of his backpack. It's hot out, humid. It's July in South Park, the only warm month. Hazel eyes stare at the condoms Clyde is shoving into his backpack.

"You never know, Craig. I might meet a hot chick and score." Clyde explains. He finishes zipping it up, pushing his arms through the straps. Craig rolls his eyes at the other male. Right.

"You're a virgin. You wouldn't even know what to do, asshole." Craig mumbles in nasal. Eyes half lidded, a bored expression painted on his countenance. His mouth presses together, a thin line between two pairs of plush, pink flesh. Clyde's face is noticeably redder.

"Would so. I've watched enough porn. I got this." Clyde elaborates. Craig remains silent at that one. They're waiting on Clyde's porch for everyone else to show up. Stan's gang, a few girls and Token. Jimmy and Tweek bailed last minute. They're all supposed to go camping a few towns over. A bright idea formulated in a group chat.

It's a bright day. Sun baking everything under it's heat. It's golden. Trees and foliage illuminated by the light. There is the sound of bird song, a chorus interrupting the gap of quiet. Chirping and loud.

Craig is looking down at his cellphone when he hears the sound of tires crushing gravel beneath it's weight. Craig looks up and it's Kyle in his moms mini van. Stan sits next to him on the passenger side. Cartman is seated behind them with Red. Token and Wendy rest in the very back. Craig squints as the sunlight assaults his eyes. He cups his hands in front of him, peering into the vehicle. He notices quickly that there is only one available space left.

There were two other people that were supposed to come. Kenny and Bebe. As he's about to question it Kenny truck begins to make a sharp turn into Clyde's driveway. Craig steps forward, noticing that Bebe is in the truck with him.

The doors to the van open and Kyle steps out. Kenny turns off his engine. Craig's stare falls on Kenny as he rests his head back, exposes his neck. He can see the splatter of freckles, more prominent after being cooked under the sun. It's as if they were an intricate piece of art. Dotted on with a paint brush.

"We have to go, like now if we're going to sign in on time. Clyde, you can ride in the back with Token and Red. Fatass takes up two seats, unfortunately." And it's true, Cartman is still big. Thick arms, stomach, legs. He's leaning forward in the car to tamper with Kyle's radio.

Craig's eyes turn away from Kenny and onto Kyle, who is looking through his backpack.

"Where do I go?" Craig question. Maybe this is a way out. He didn't really want to go camping. It was the summer after their senior year and he wanted to just spend it in solitude. Kyle nods his head towards Kenny's truck.

"Go with Kenny and Bebe. We'll meet you guys at the campground."

Craig closes his eyes. The rays of light tickling his countenance. He lets out a long suffering sigh.

His green eyes open and the world around him hasn't vanished. The pitch black was merely a shield for a few seconds. Craig's fingers curl around the straps of his backpack and he steps towards Kenny's truck. He stands in front of the passenger side door, pulls on the handle only to find it's locked. Kenny looks over at him, passed Bebe and sends a toothy smile in his direction.

Bebe reaches over and flicks open the lock. Craig lifts himself into the truck. Sitting next to Bebe. She smells of some sweet, flowery perfume that lingers in the air. Masking the scent of smoke.

"Craig Tucker." Kenny sing songs as he taps his finger against the steering wheel. His eyes lazily follow Kyle as he climbs into the drivers side of his moms mini van. Craig places his backpack in his lap, rests his elbows on the little bag. Cups his chin with his palm, his attention is on Clyde's house. Trying to avoid engaging interaction.

"Kenny Mccormick." Craig replies. Bebe tampers with the radio, scrolling passed static and pop music. Kenny starts his truck up and begins to back out of the driveway after Kyle has pulled out. He lets out a low whistle as Bebe settles on some punk rock station.

"Good choice, B." Kenny praises as the sound of The Descendants vibrates throughout the confines of the truck. Bebe beams at him and Craig sinks into the cracked leather seats.

His gaze falls out of the window, to the passing scenery of familiar houses and storefronts. Oddly enough, everything was not foreign. From the scenery of the town to Bebe and Kenny's friendship. Which had budded sometime in elementary school. Right when Tweek and Craig started dating.

Right after Craig and Kenny stopped hanging out.

Craig tries not to dwell too much on it. But his hazel eyes fall on the little mirror in the car, and focuses on Kenny. Craig is trying to be discreet with his staring.

He remembers the last time the two of them got together. It was the sunday before the drama with Tweek started to happen. They lazily sat in Craig's living room. Craig, pretzel style with his camera in his grip. Red Racer was on in the background. Bags of chips and candies rested next to them. Craig was looking at the photos he took of Kenny.

The one he was currently mulling over was a candid of Kenny at a picnic table. His attention was on the water of Starks pond. His hood down, golden hair a mess of waves, curling, framing his face. Sticking up at all angles. Almost a little passed his ears.

He was lit up by the golden hour, sun setting. Bathing him in yellows and oranges.

Kenny lips were parted, and Craig remembers all the details. From the pink of Kenny's lips, the flush of red on his cheeks, dusted down his neck. The way his finger was gingerly drumming against the surface of the table. There is a whole section in his photo albums of strictly Kenny, Trisha and Karen. The three of them were thick as thieves. This particular photo was glued onto the cover of one of his album. Tucked safely under his bed with Craig's collection of photo books.

Craig remembers Kenny looking at the picture over his shoulder. He was throwing back a can of cherry coke. Talking about how was going to be a model. How Craig would be his photographer. How they'd run away from Colorado one day.

Craig's eyes flick away from the mirror and turns back to the road. Bebe and Kenny were chatting. Laughing and joking around. Craig felt like a third wheel.

It's a weird contrast. From talking about running away together, to complete silence. To not being in the same confines until now. Kenny went into the shadows, he was already fading away. His interactions with everyone becoming less and less. After that day, they never spoke again.

Craig tries to zone out to the punk rock music. Ignore how odd the scenario is. He rests his head on the cool glass, closes his eyes. Succumbs to pitch black. When he opens them, Craig is in an empty truck.

He wipes the sleep from his eyes and looks at his surroundings. Bebe is seated on the hood of Kenny's truck. Kenny is standing in front of her with his hands stuffed in his pockets, Clyde next to him. Clyde has a pipe in his hand and the smoke curls out of his mouth and fades into the warmth of summer. Clyde passes the pipe to Bebe. And Kenny watches the exchange with a smile adorning his face.

They are in the woods, parked on a path that leads to their campground. Kyle is setting up a tent, while Cartman pops marshmallows into his mouth. Stan is aiding Kyle while Token and Wendy are setting up another tent.

There are already two tents set up, which Craig can only assume is Kenny and Bebe's. His and Clyde's.

Craig steps out of the truck, hopping down to the concrete surface. He is hit with the heat that only comes with summer in colorado. It's sticky and Craig can feel the sweat forming on his skin. He moves towards Clyde, who is all eyes on Bebe.

"Hey." Craig greets, he pokes his arms through the straps of his backpack. Clyde finally turns his attention to Craig, and smiles at him. Craig almost resents Clyde as he has perfect, straight white teeth. He licks his own, self consciously. Tongue grazing the metal of his braces.

"Man. I love camping." Clyde says in his nasal. Craig lets out a snort at that. Remembering how Clyde recently just told him how he fucking hates summer because of the bugs and heat and sweat. He decides to remain quiet about that though. Opting to shuffle his feet. Silent.

"I'm going to make burgers." Craig states as he turns away from them, and moves towards the little grill that is on their campsite. He briefly hears Bebe state that he is 'so fucking weird'. However, he ignores this and begins to unpack the little ziplock bag he packed of pre made hamburgers. It was stored away in the front of his backpack. Pressed between two cold compresses. Everyone else was productive while he was napping, so he guesses he should be too.

The day passes on with everyone setting up their tents and eating the meal Craig makes. Laughing and horsing around. By the end of it they are seated around a hearty fire that Stan starts with his lighter and a bunch of sticks they find.

The fire licks at the air, bright and beautiful. Craig sits next to his cousin, Red. While Clyde, Bebe and Kenny sit together a few inches away. He finds it odd that Clyde isn't glued to his hip like usual. Craig doesn't question it, though.

"You won't believe who is camping next to us...uhg." Red says as she leans forward towards the heat, twisting the marshmallow around in the fire, attached on a the end of a stick.

"Hm." Craig replies. Red sighs again.

"Someone is camping next to us?" Kyle questions. His hands are sticky and he tries to wipe them off on the blanket he is seated on. Stan passes him a wet wipe that he had stored in his pocket.

"Oh sweet man. We should invite them to hang out." Stan adds in as he takes a sip of liquor from a flask. He passes it to Kyle who takes a swig.

"Not sweet. It's Lola and her stupid friends. She brought Esther and her loser brother." Red clarifies. And Craig rolls his eyes. Knowing that he has photos upon photos of Red and Kevin somewhere in his picture albums. Again, Craig remains quiet.

"Lola's hot." Clyde says, popping a marshmallow in his mouth. Bebe lets out a hum of agreement.

"I mean she quit the cheerleading squad, but yeah. She's gorgeous. Totally got that indie chick thing going on." Bebe adds in. She takes a sip of the liquor passed to her. She gingerly hands the bottle to Kenny.

"We should invite them to go swimming tomorrow." Bebe suggests as Kenny downs the rest of the booze: Craig's eyes fall on him, briefly, before flicking away. Instead they fall on Token and Wendy, who remain quiet. They're looking down at Token's phone, lost to the conversation.

"No. We shouldn't." Red states, harshly. Craig rolls his eyes. He knows Red. This isn't some stupid rivalry thing. Craig knows how much Red stalks Kevin's facebook, his instagram, his tumblr. Instead of staying quiet, Craig speaks up.

"I think it's a good idea." He says, just to piss Red off. She throws a nasty look in his direction. Brows furrowed, lipstick coated mouth parted as if she is going to tell him off.

"What'd i miss guys?" Cartman says as he sits down, stomach and boxers exposed. He zips up his pants. Bebe lets out a laugh at that, and everyone else soon follows.

"Whaaaat? What's so funny you assholes?" Cartman drawls. He plops down on next to Kyle, who is laying his head on Stan's lap. Stan lazily runs his fingers through his red, curled hair. His eyelashes rest on his cheek, alcohol making him sleepy.

"If there is anything funny, it's how Kahl can't handle his liquor! Stupid jew."

By the end of the night the fire is put out. Craig stands by Clyde's tent, and as Clyde approaches him, so does Bebe.

Clyde has his arm wrapped around her middle. Fingers twisted into the fabric of her frilly, red shirt.

"Craig. Uh..." Clyde starts. He smiles nervously at Craig and Bebe smiles too, more confident. She has a look of 'i won this'. A smug, victorious look on her face. Though what Bebe has won, Craig is unsure of.

"Clyde and I are sharing a tent. Sorry, dude." She says. And Craig's mouth is again pressed firmly together. His brows furrow.

"Who am I supposed to sleep with?" Craig inquires. At that moment, a hand falls on his shoulder. Craig looks up to Kenny, who has stolen his spot as the tallest kid in their class. He used to be so tiny, but somewhere along the way he shot up. Lanky but not awkward. Not like Craig. He has more confidence. Self assurance. Kenny grins down at him.

"With me." Kenny squeezes Craig's shoulder and Clyde snickers at that. Bebe elbows him.

Craig is brought back to earlier when he and Clyde were separated, and has a kind of deja vu feeling. He tries to stifle it, though.

"I promise to be gentle, babe." Kenny jokes. Craig raises a middle finger at him, and shakes his hand off.

"Who says I like gentle?" At that, Kenny lets out a laugh along with Clyde and Bebe. Craig rolls his eyes.

"Hot. Come on, Craig. Lets head to bed." Kenny says, he nods his head in the direction of their tent. Craig lets out a long suffering sigh. They walk the short distance and unzip the door to the tent, climbing into the small space. Craig positions himself comfortably, pulling blankets over his frame. He doesn't know why they have so many, it's so hot.

He rests his head down on the pillow he packed. It's quiet, just nature's chorus. It is silent between them. An unspoken agreement to just let this be. Craig can hear Kenny tossing and turning. He closes his hazel eyes. Drifts off into the darkness.

When he opens them again it's blue instead of the black that it was at night. Craig sits up. Looks to his side to see that he is alone. He stays there for a few seconds. Checks his phone to find it is 4am.

They all headed in at 1. Craig always wakes up at weird times. He unzips the tent and steps out to the desolate forest. It's eerie, almost. Everything is illuminated by the moon, and it casts a blueish glow on the world.

Craig can see Kenny's form by the fire pit. He almost decides to go back into the tent and try to go back to sleep, but his eyes stay on him. He doesn't know why, but he feels like he wants to be with Kenny right now. So instead he takes a seat next to him. There were still sheets placed down by the fire pit. Far enough to not get set on fire, close enough to roast marshmallows with a stick.

"Still wake up at piss o clock, I see." Kenny states. Craig remains quiet. His slender fingers prod at a stick on the ground. He picks it up and holds it in his grip.

"Why are you up?" Craig pries. Kenny lets out a hum, leaning his head back and shrugs.

"Can't sleep." Kenny says, simply. But Craig can't help but feel there is more to it. He doesn't press the issue, however.

It's quiet. A big gap between them, that hasn't been filled for years. Kenny turns towards Craig and looks at him. Blue eyes roaming, searching Craig. Craig avoids his stare.

"Remember when we were kids? How we wanted to run away?" Kenny asks. He has a smile on his face. Full and cheeky, gap toothed. Craig stares at it, brief. It's pretty much the same as when they were younger. Crooked but more yellow, probably one of Kenny's only physical flaws. It's not like his family had the money to take care of his dental hygiene. Craig's own family has always been less fortunate with their income. Better off then the Mccormick, however.

"Yeah. Yeah, I do." Craig answers. He smiles ever so slightly at the thought.

"Where are you going after this summer?" Kenny questions. Craig pokes at the fire pit. He almost feels embarrassed for what he's about to admit.

"Park County Community College." He could go somewhere else, his grades were decent enough. Craig always wanted to leave South Park. However, it sucks you in. Once you enter South Park, your tie isn't just broken. You always end up back there for some reason. Craig remembers his step father, Thomas trying to leave. Only to come back months later with his tail between his legs.

Craig could leave. Something was keeping him, though. He could never place his finger on it. It's like he had some unfinished business with South Park, and he needed just a few more years before he tried to break the bond. Maybe it's because his mom needed him. Craig knew how strained her and Thomas' relationship is. Maybe it's because Clyde was staying behind. Craig hated to admit it, but Clyde was the closest thing Craig had to a best friend.

"What changed?" Kenny questions. Craig knows what Kenny means. Remembers nights in the same bed talking about how he was going to go to some fancy school to become a photographer.

"I don't know." Craig admits. He drops the stick, discards it to the ground where all the rest lay. Fading in with the foliage.

"Hm." Is all Kenny says.

Kenny turns his attention away from Craig. Baby blues focused on the moon. The stars litter the navy canvas of the sky.

"Still ship the blue and red racer?" Kenny question. Craig lets out a scoff at that. Christ.

It's hot, and Craig swipes the back of his hand across his forehead. Perspiration collected on the surface.

"I mean." Craig pauses. Trying to find the right way to word this. He rests his hand in his lap. Wiping the sweat off of his hand and onto his shorts.

"Yeah. Not as much. The Red racer has some competition with orange." Craig explains. Kenny lets out a gasp at that.

"They were your otp!" Craig runs a hand through his hair, embarrassed.

"I was 10." He says, simple. Kenny tsks at him. He scoots closer to Craig and lifts up his long sleeve. On his wrist is a simple little illustration. An little orange and blue spaceman in the form of a tattoo.

"I always shipped orange and blue. I was just too afraid to admit it. You had such a boner for red and blue." Kenny looks down at Craig, a closed mouth, heart felt smile. Craig can't help to smile back. Kenny's happiness is kind of infectious. Craig remembers nights where he'd hear Kenny sobbing into his pillow. And even though Craig hasn't seen that in awhile, it still causes a little twist in his heart. An ache at the memory. Craig may traditionally wear blue, but Kenny was more internally blue. Even if on the external he was orange. Vibrant.

It's funny, really. Craig gingerly runs his fingertips across Kenny's tattoo'd flesh. Orange and blue. Kenny's favorite color, Craig's favorite color.

Craig goes to retreat his hand from Kenny, but Kenny twists his own around. So their palms are facing each other. He grips onto Craig's hand. Craig thinks he should pull away, but he doesn't want to. Kenny's hand is sweaty and gross, fingers twisting to intertwine with his. However, so is Craig's. Damp and hot. Maybe it was kind of weird, but Craig didn't mind. He's brought back to that field trip in fourth grade. Where the night before Kenny called Craig. Asked him in a muffled voice if he'd be his partner.

They sit there in the blue hue of early morning. Talking about Red Racer shipping, Ruby and Trisha, stars and galaxies and the universe.

They talk until Craig finds himself falling asleep on Kenny. Somehow Craig finds himself laying between Kenny's leg. Head rested on his stomach, listening to him talk away. It's like a song, a lullaby that fades away eventually.

He drifts off, dreaming of orange and blue galaxies.


End file.
